I wish to enlist but my parents have taken a strong stance against the Marine Corps...
I am a senior this fall and wont turn 18 until next august but i want to get a july ship date
what can i say/do to help with getting consent? granted my wanting to go into 03xx might not be helping me much, but i want to serve my country, plain and simple. i dont have any real direction for what i want to do in life as far as a profession...but i can see that i want to be a Marine!
My dad sort of understands he was Army for 4 years, but he doesnt get why i want to be one of the Few and the Proud. He thinks i just want to shoot everything the gov. has, which is true to some extent
My mom just thinks i have a death wish and that i will come home in a body bag!
How can i explain to them what it means to be a Marine (even tho i am not)
Just level with them. Tell them that when you turn 18 you're going to enlist anyway so by signing the consent will give you a year to get physically and mentally prepared. Besides did you know that there are more people that are killed in drunk driving accidents in the U.S than there have been deaths in Iraq? So in theory you have a better chance of get killed in a drunk driving accident than you do in Iraq.
You're probably not going to be able to say anything to change their minds.
At 17 they probably consider this a phase that will pass once you get moving into your senior year and with college on the horizon. Every parent wants their kids to have a better life than they have...Heck, I hope my kids chose an easier life than I have lived.
They want what is best for you. You are still their responsibility.
Choose your battles wisely. if you're going to join when you turn 18 then you probably won't be leaving in July. One extra month isn't going to alter the universe.
They want what is best for you. You are still their responsibility.
My parents finally signed my papers a couple hours ago even though they had said they never would. This worked out largely because, even though it took a lot of convincing, I did get my father on my side. My mothers lack of motivation was strictly emotional, but once I made my father see the logic behind it, he was able to sway my mother.
I have at least two other friends who have DEPped in who used the same "postponing the inevitable" argument. It will likely take time. It took me a few months of discussing paperwork with them. I first told them I wanted to be a Marine in 7th Grade and they didn't take me seriously until I started Junior year. At that point they did know I was serious, however.
Thank you all I have been steadily working on them, however since i chose to see what other branches had to offer i may have dug myself into a hole because, an Army recruiter fanagled me into talking with me and my parents. bad plan, mom started crying in the middle...no good
now after investigating my options more thoroughly i have decided on the Marine Corps
and my mom accuses me of being immature and too young to know what i want and flip flopping one of the ones i use is "no matter which branch i go into im going to get deployed. now wouldnt you rather have your son be one of the best going with the best?" that gets her attention
i know they want whats best for me, they want me to go to college get a degree and make a $hitload of money, which is fine and dandy
but i dont know what i want to go to school for and all of that, i personally think that i should enlist for 4 years then go from there, i feel that i will have a better idea of what i want in life when im 22...any thoughts comments ideas?
I also had to get my mom to sign for me considering i am 17 as well. She (like your Mom) told me she would never do it, that i am not old enough, dont know what i want, you know the deal. I told her i was going into the Military when i was in 8th grade and did nothing but bug her about it until i enlisted. But what really helped me is one night i sat my Mom down and talked to her about the Marines. I told her i wanted to serve my country, to be part of something bigger than myself, and apart of something most people are too afraid to do. I told her about learning dicipline, honor, respect, becoming an adult, all the things i am looking to get out of the service. Like any Mother, she preached about college and education, the usual. I told her this is my dream, and i asked for her help in accomplishing my dream. My best advice is to sit down with your Mom and tell her what being a Marine means to you. Dont threaten her with "well then ill just join when im 18 then". That didnt work for me at all, just made it worse. If you convince her that you are absolutely 100% sure this is what you want to do, she'll sign. Since i signed up, i have never seen my Mom more proud of me. She brings up the Marine Corps more than i do. This is about two months after she told me she would never sign for me. I hope this helps and good luck.
